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Guide · Checking a company

How to check a company before you do business with it

A new customer gets in touch, an unknown supplier sends an offer or a haulier responds to your load. Before you deliver, load or pay, you want to know: does this company exist, is it healthy, and am I really talking to that company?

SafetyBizz Knowledge base · updated 21 October 2026 · 6 min read · NL · FR · DE · SV

What should I check when I check a company?

Short answer: two questions, not one. Most people only check whether a company exists. That is the first question. The second is just as important: does the person you are dealing with really belong to that company? Fraudsters often use the name and number of an existing, healthy company. The register is then correct, but the email address, phone number and bank account belong to the fraudster. See also Spotting a clone company.

How do I check a company in 8 steps?

  1. Look the company up in the official register of its country, such as Companies House in the UK, the KBO in Belgium, the KvK in the Netherlands or the Handelsregister in Germany. Check the status (active or dissolved), legal form, incorporation date, address and activity.
  2. Watch for recent changes. A new address, a new name or new directors just before the company approaches you deserves extra attention. Especially for a company that was dormant for years.
  3. Check the VAT number in VIES, the European VAT database. A valid number proves the number exists, not that your contact belongs to it.
  4. Look at the published accounts if there are any. Negative equity, large losses or years without filed accounts are signals to be careful with credit.
  5. Find the official website and landline yourself. Do not use the details from the email or signature you received. A clone puts its own number there.
  6. Call that number and ask whether your contact works there and whether the request really comes from them.
  7. Compare the email address with the real website. Watch for small differences in the domain (an extra letter, a different extension) and for free email addresses at a large company.
  8. Check the bank account before you pay. Banks in the EU now show for euro transfers whether the name matches the IBAN, and UK banks offer Confirmation of Payee. If you get "no match" or "close match", stop and call back on a number you looked up yourself.
A good credit score is not proof. A credit score says whether a company can pay. It says nothing about whether you are talking to that company. With a clone, the good score is exactly why the company was chosen.

When should I be extra careful?

Let Safetybizz check it

SafetyBizz pulls the data from the official registers and puts it next to what you received: email address, domain, phone, contact person, bank account and documents. Anything that does not match, you see right away.

See SafetyBizz

Frequently asked questions

How do I check whether a company exists?

Look the company up in the official business register of its country, such as Companies House in the UK or the KBO in Belgium. There you see whether it is active, when it was incorporated, its address and activity. Also check the VAT number in VIES.

Is a company reliable if it is in the register?

Not necessarily. The register confirms that the company exists, not that the person you are dealing with works there. Fraudsters often use the details of an existing company. So always call back on a number you looked up yourself.

How do I check a company’s bank account?

Banks in the EU show for euro transfers whether the name matches the IBAN, and UK banks offer Confirmation of Payee. If there is no match, do not pay, and call the company on a number you looked up yourself to confirm the account.

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This page is general information and not legal advice.